A Tale of Three Brothers
by TheForsakenShadow
Summary: What was it like in the era of the three brothers? What was it like during the reign of Ahadi? What was it like before the events of the Lion King took place? The story of three brothers; Mufasa, Taka and Taraja.
1. Prologue

**Thanks so much to my wonderful beta, KRM-EditorInChief. Without you, posting this again wouldn't have been possible.**

**I know what you're thinking now. "Oh, crap, the kid's redone it again, and he'll never stop redoing it!" Well, you're wrong, because this will (probably) be my final go at this.**

**But hey, you should learn never to take whatever I say seriously ;)**

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_**Chapter 1: Prologue**_

_In the view of a lone lion…_

It's hot out here. I mean it. Seriously hot. I've been roaming around for ages now in search of the place I want to find, I _need_ to find. There's no one around here to even ask for directions. Yeah, well, which desert animal would know where the Pride Lands are, anyway? Which desert animal would know where anything is? They're in the middle of nowhere. Would they even _have _a sense of direction? Which animal would be a desert animal at all, if given the choice?

Grrr. Why did I leave Lucian's pride? He was the lion who found me unconscious in the desert when I first left the Pride Lands. He carried me to his pride and had his wife, Owa, take care of me until I became conscious and he accepted me as part of the pride.

I was happy there. Lucian was like a brother to me, and Owa, a sister-in-law. They had two cubs; a boy named Rashid and a girl named Gesha, who were like my nephew and niece. So why did I bother to leave the nice, lush, cool place?

Oh, yeah. I remember. For _her_, the other half of my heart. It was a worthwhile reason, after all. And I- no, _we_ would be going back to Lucian and his family, anyway. If I could find my way back. If I'd be able to leave the Pride Lands alive at all.

What am I thinking? Of course I'll end up alive. I can flatten her whole pride in less than a minute. I'm no pussy-cat. I'm a lion. I'm not sensitive. I'm strong. I'm definitely stronger than her fool of a husband.

Heaven, I'm thirsty. If I remember the Pride Lands well, there's a small waterhole near the borders. One of the hundreds they have, anyway. They have everything. Yet they still take what us Low-Downs have. Just like Ahadi took Uru from me.

I loved her. I really did. And I still do. But Ahadi stole her before I had a chance tell her how I felt, the git.

She was my friend from the start. He didn't deserve her. I was her only friend when both our moms, who were rogues, had come searching for a home. When we were all accepted by King Mohatu, we kept to ourselves, and I protected her from any other cubs who messed with her. I was her best friend.

But we grew to be less anti-social and began to make friends. That was our big mistake. _My_ big mistake. If I hadn't let her socialize with anyone, none of this would have happened. We grew up with our friends. We were in our adolescence when Uru and Ahadi began to fall for each other. Observing their behavior towards each other, Ahadi's parents and Uru's mother betrothed them. Of course, none of us knew at that time.

They were finally told when we were young adults. But unlike any other unmarried couple who learn about their betrothal, they reacted pretty happily to the news. But I saw an error there. I knew that she shouldn't get married to Ahadi. Because I had also fallen for her at that time. I tried to talk to her about it, but she ignored me. It was like she hardly knew me anymore.

My mother was in a relationship with a lion named Daka, who lived in the Pride Lands. He was known as a 'knight' of the Pride, as were all of the lions who lived there. I never did like him much. It was because of him my mom had begun to forget my presence.

What with my mother and Uru almost literally out of my life, I confronted Ahadi, blaming him for everything. We argued and argued until it got bloody. Ahadi slapped my face. Hard. With his claws extracted. There were two ugly cuts that ran down my chin, and they've been there as scars ever since.

Ahadi, already close to taking over, had the rights to banish me, which he most happily did. I ran far into the desert. That's when Lucian found me and took me to his pride where I finally felt like I was wanted. I stayed there for a few years. But certain feelings kept nagging at me. I missed her, and I wondered if, maybe, she missed me, too. I then decided to temporarily leave and go back to the Pride Lands to take back what was rightfully mine. Was she even happy with that brute, Ahadi? Would she feel differently about him, or more importantly, me, once I share my true feelings for her? Will she listen this time?

I've been walking for hours now, but I can't turn back. It's too far away now. I'll have to bear the heat and keep walking. Brilliant.

Whoa, is that a waterhole out there? Or is it a mirage from the heat? No, I'm not hallucinating; it's definitely a waterhole. And now ends my suffering. At least until I become thirsty again, of course. I don't think my final destination is too far away. I'm going to keep my head high after that water rejuvenates me and go on ahead, because I know I will reach the Pride Lands and take back what's mine.


	2. Decisions

**A rose to KRMEditorInChief, my beta-reader :)**

_**Chapter 2: Decisions**_

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Ahadi was always a rational king. He carried out plans carefully; he handled problems of both his own and the other animals' well; he would always make the right decisions and whatnot. He had handled the whole kingdom's grief over his father Mohatu's death extremely well, which was huge, since his _own_ grief was difficult to overcome. He had had some kings from other kingdoms fight with him over things that were out of his control, but he made amends soon enough. But yet, he was facing a problem worse than those of wars and deaths.

He couldn't decide which of his sons would rule when they grew up.

They were born barely hours ago, he'd had a good look at them, but the main problem was that it was a _them_. He had not one, not two, but three sons. _Three_.

He had, at first, thought that the christening would be the most difficult thing for now, but he was wrong. He decided that he'd rather have another go at giving names to even more cubs than decide which one would take the kingdom.

True, most kings would choose the firstborn, even if the cubs were littermates. But he found the firstborn-to-rule tradition unfair to the other cubs. It would seem as though he didn't love the other two as much. But of course, Ahadi knew that he would never favor one cub over the other. They were all special and unique in their own ways to him.

There was Taraja, the firstborn. He was totally unique and looked almost nothing like either of his parents. His fur was a color he couldn't really explain, kind of like a pale brown with a greenish touch to it. And he sported birthmarks: two strips running down his front paws. His eyes were emerald green – they matched Uru's.

Then there was Mufasa. He had bright, golden fur, just like Ahadi himself. He had warm brown eyes which were also Ahadi's, and the rest of his facial features matched Uru's. He had her smile, for one.

And lastly, there was Taka. He was slightly skinny but that didn't matter much. The shaman, Kala, had said that he was perfectly healthy and his skinniness was nothing to worry about. He had dark, chocolate brown fur and green eyes, again like his mother. Ahadi presumed he would sooner or later grow a black mane like his own.

They were all so lovely…he loved them all equally. Yet, he couldn't decide which one he would choose as king. He knew that he had an option of waiting 'til they were older, but usually the subjects expected to know the heir a few days after the cubs were born. He didn't think that they would be too pleased to have him breaking the tradition.

The problem with Ahadi was that whenever he had an image of the future, it would almost always be negative. He was imagining three different worlds; each with one of his cubs as king.

The first 'world' contained Mufasa as king. He was big and strong and burly but the pride and the rest of the animals hated him; he was a tyrant and ruled with an iron paw. He killed off people the moment they challenged him to the slightest.

And the second 'world' was with Taraja. He was a pretty much all right king but he had loads of problems with decisions. Another king from another kingdom had started an argument which led to war, and the entire kingdom was destroyed.

The third 'world' was with Taka, weak and bony Taka, which was by far the worst. What had happened? A meerkat colony had killed him.

These images didn't make things any easier for him.

Of course, Uru had had kittens (no pun intended) when she realized she had given birth to three cubs. _She _didn't have any cubs to name heirs. No. Nothing of the sort. It was always he who had to do basically all the work. He was beginning to get sick of it, even though he knew very well that this was his responsibility and that this was what he had been signed up for since birth.

He knew that whoever it was, he had to decide by a few days time. And, once decided, _nothing_ could change that, even if the results turned out for the worse.

Ahadi very much knew that he was in a _very_ difficult position.

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**Okay, I know that 'short' isn't even the word for this, but I was lazy, and **


	3. Another Story

The inhabitants of the pride of the Eastern Valley were not pleasant ones. It was typical of their kind to treat outsiders with enmity and malice, so most tended to keep clear. Their dwelling was unnerving enough to tell anyone that they weren't wanted there: a dark and chilling place with a number of spooky caves surrounded by trees that eerily resembled stooped human figures with sharp claws.

The pride was ruled under the iron paw of one Tisho Woga- preferably "Your Highness" or "Your Majesty" or "My Lord". His attitude could be described in one word; arrogant. Of course, being the supreme ruler, he should be treated with respect. His opinions were worth double anyone else's. His position was superior, so what he says, goes. He was of royal bloodline, so he _must_ be better than everyone else.

For the Eastern Valley Pride, being anything but proud and scornful was out. Tisho's entire bloodline had been royal, and every one of them had made sure that this rule was not deterred in the slightest. But of course, there is always a black sheep in every flock.

Our black sheep takes the shape of a lion named Simo. An ordinary lion for those parts- dark coat and mane, strong build, a pointed nose- a typical Eastern Valley Pride member…only he wasn't.

He was a bad influence on the rest of the pride, thought Tisho, as he walked into one of the dens. Not that they actually bothered to be influenced by anyone. His pride always followed one principle- don't try to be like anyone else, and be the best by yourself. Tisho smirked to himself – it was satisfying to know how his leadership had such an effect on the pride.

His eyes scanned the room, and they finally found the lion he sought. "Simo," he said as he padded over to the dark corner where the brown lion lay.

"Sire," he said as he stood up and bowed his head respectfully to the king.

"I understand your mate has given birth, Simo."

"That is true, My Lord," he replied, his eyes shining with delight.

"I'm afraid I have some rather bad news for you."

* * *

Lea's eyes opened. Immediately, she remembered the pain and suffering she went through only a few hours ago. But the moment she looked down and saw the two bundles of fur curled up in her paws, all thoughts about what happened during the childbirth were forgotten.

The cubs, both girls, looked quite similar. One had slightly lighter fur and thin ear rims that she presumed would grow, while the other sported none. She smiled broadly as one of the small bundles slowly opened their eyes and blinked at their mother. The other one slept on. Lea couldn't wait for Simo to see them.

"You're a little darling, aren't you?" she cooed. Lea's mother had once told her that talking to the baby when it is still small helps it to start forming words early. Why not give it a shot, she though. "What's your name going to be? I think your daddy would be better at things like these than me."

The baby blinked.

"So you want me to do it, do you?"

She blinked again.

"You're a quite the silent one."

She blinked yet again.

"Hmm…" Lea pondered. "How about Sabini?"

At this, the baby gave her mother a broad smile, as though she understood that this was to be what she was going to be called…Sabini. Come here, Sabini! Time for a nap, Sabini. Sabini, stop playing in that mud and come over for a bath!

"And you," Lea said as she looked at the other cub, who was beginning to stir, "will be Sarabi."


End file.
